As I noted a few weeks ago, Emily Brock and I are reviewing formal evaluation methods for Open Source Software (OSS). We’re doing this because I would like to get a handle on what worked or didn’t work with the Archon project. Having an objective understanding of that project’s strengths and weaknesses will be critical as the ArchivesSpace project moves forward. The article that Emily and I hope to write will complement Sybil Shaefer’s excellent Code4Lib piece.

The evaluation tools and methods that we found help users select software. While they may may facilitate project improvement or self criticism, that is not their primary purpose. Therefore, Emily Brock and I will be putting together a new method for OSS project evaluation/self criticism, then testing whether it works.

All this is just to say, by way of introduction, that over the next few days, Emily and I will be releasing some posts based on the initial literature review we completed. Before getting to that, Wikipedia contains a helpful overview and comparison of existing open source software assessment methodologies. It lists the Open Source Maturity Model (OSMM) from Navica, the Qualification and Selection of Open Source software (QSOS), and the Open Business Readiness Rating (OpenBRR). Look out soon for more in depth reviews of these, and other methods!